Gian Piero Brunetta was born in Cesena, in the province of Forlì, on May 20th, 1942 . He is a movie critic and historian. His parents came from Venice and they were displaced during the 2nd World War. Gian Piero gradueted on 1966  with a thesis on the formation of movie critique and theory in Italy during 1930 and on the development of neo-realistic idea. Brunetta starts his interview describing his first memory about food. In particular, he speaks about the postwar period. He remembers people who, coming back from war, has told him about the hunger they had felt in prison camps. So, the fear of waste is etched in his mind because of that. Brunetta continues telling about  eating traditions coming from his family and about the piedmontese ones, which he is particularly closed to. Then he speaks about cinema and a movie tale he has created for Expo. Here Brunetta tried to show the development of history and the way cinema has told about the different ways of eating.  He refers to films which has gone down in history of cinema in gastronomic field, such as “Il pranzo di Babette”. Thank to his strong passion Brunetta lets us see food as needed, as a place of sharing or a place of industrial production and waste, but also as a place for memory of cinema.

Interview by: Elisabetta Moro
Video by: Elisabetta Moro. Editing by: Annalisa Rascato
Document by: Nunzia Palumbo
Translation by: Francesco Urbani
MedEatResarch – Center of Social Research on the Mediterranean Diet of the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, head by Marino Niola and Elisabetta Moro
Realized: 12-06-2016
Gian Piero Brunetta

Gian Piero Brunetta

Date of birth: 20-05-1942
City: Cesena (FC)
Education: University
Profession: Historian and film critic
Language: Italian

Video table of contents

- 00.25 First memory about food
- 03.40 Grandma and aunt’s cooking
- 08.21 Cellars of piedmontese houses: wine, food and cured meats
- 13.13 A piedmontese memory: pic-nic in Sant’Anna of Vinadio
- 15.29 Piedmontese wine and ritiual
- 19.33 Farmer’s ospitality
- 25.29 Francis Ford Coppola’s wine
- 28.20 EXPO: Documentary
- 37.16 “Il Pranzo di Babette”: italian cooking in America
- 39.15 Vegan fundamentalism
- 42.38 Politically Correct
- 49.45 The dish of happines

Geographic information

Country: IT
Region: Emilia Romagna
City: Mirandola
District: Modena
Altitude: 18m s.l.m.

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